Appsoft readies full line

Redwood City, CA Ð Appsoft will compete in almost every major software product category in 1993, with plans to ship eight products by the end of the first quarter of 1993. "Our goal is to provide the customer with a single source for all productivity apps," said Randy Adams, Appsoft president. The Appsoft application suite includes presentation graphics, personal information managers (PIMs), and communications. Of the major categories, only databases and page-layout programs remain untouched by Appsoft's announcements.

Appsoft will stress the advantages of dealing with large vendors in its sales pitch, offering customer services such as an 800 number, special pricing, and bundle deals. The company said it is emphasizing integration across its entire product line, and has designed the programs with similar user interfaces, to promote ease of use.

The Appsoft product lineup, which will be available in special price bundles, includes:

• Presents. Due to ship next March for $495, Presents is based on the Aldus Persuasion model for presentation packages and will include features like speaker notes, headers, footers and a suite of professionally designed templates. It is expected to compete head-on with Lighthouse Design's $995 Concurrence.
• Assistant. Due to ship in January for $295, Assistant is a combination of two products, Album and Dater, which were developed by 42 Software of Germany. Assistant is a PIM with an address book and calender tied to the Appsoft Express mail program. It will have to compete in an already crowded product category with Sarrus Software's Pencil-Me-In and Adamation's What's Happening.
• Write 3.0. The rewritten upgrade of WriteNow, the word-processing application that was previously bundled with each NeXT, will sell for $495 starting in March 1993. Users who buy the $199 Appsoft Write before the new release ships will receive a free upgrade to Version 3.0. Among the new features are import and export support for a wide range of file formats, using the licensed MasterSoft filter set in the code. Appsoft has also licensed the Stonehand text-processing engine and is using it as the core of the new program, which will compete directly with WordPerfect. Appsoft also licensed Advanced Software's redlining technology.
• Express. Touted as a more powerful version of NeXTmail, Express is also slated to ship in March for $99. It will include extensive data management, a message database, presorting of mail, an open API, integration with news readers, and automatic tracking of conversation threads, among other features.
• Solution. Slated to ship in January, this $595 basic spreadsheet is based on the code for Powerstep purchased from now-defunct Ashton-Tate. It will boast a Microsoft Excel-like interface, file compatibility with Lotus 1-2-3 and Excel, and a robust macro language. It is expected to compete head on with Athena Design's Mesa and Informix's Wingz.

In other news, Appsoft has announced that Peter Karnig has left his position as General Manager of the company, and Mark Willhof has been hired for the newly created position of director of sales.